In fact, beauty is a human capital. Before the emergence of commodity economy, it existed as a potential human resource, but it was not shown because of the lack of suitable soil to create economic value. Later, with the continuous improvement of social productive forces, the value of beauty has developed rapidly and played an unprecedented role in the creation and distribution of social wealth. As an island country, Singapore is sparsely populated and lacks natural resources. At the beginning of independence from 65438 to 0965, the Singapore government faced a series of internal and external troubles. In this regard, the Singapore government sized up the situation and adopted the economic development route of "industrialization road". Its economic development has experienced a gradual transition from labor-intensive industries in the early days of independence to capital-and technology-intensive industries and high-tech industries with high added value, and then to knowledge-intensive economies such as information industry. Today, Singapore has developed into an important financial center, transportation center and international trade transit station in Southeast Asia, an important electronic product manufacturing center in the world and the third largest oil refining center. These achievements are attributed to the foresight and innovative attitude of the Singapore government.
Singapore's leaders have always advocated and promoted innovation in a clear-cut manner, stressing that to maintain sustained and vigorous economic development, we must actively strengthen the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and expand the field of research and development. What Singapore should compete for is knowledge, innovation and talents, not cost. The Singapore Economic Development Board has set up the "Asian Innovation Award" since 1997. This annual award has enhanced Singapore's image as an innovation-oriented country. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong told more than 65,438+0,000 global entrepreneurs when awarding the 2005 "Asian Innovation Award" that competition and survival pressure promoted innovation in Singapore. Due to the lack of natural resources, Singapore's early development mainly depends on the prediction of future trends and policy innovation.
Introduce policies to encourage innovation
Recently, Singapore established a research, innovation and entrepreneurship Council to advise the government on national research, innovation and entrepreneurship strategies. Its members include private entrepreneurs, scientific and academic representatives and cabinet ministers, with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the chairman and former Deputy Prime Minister Chen Qingyan as the vice-chairman. At the same time, Singapore has also set up a "National Research Fund" to finance long-term strategic research projects, with Chen Qingyan as the chairman.
The committee suggested that the government take the new R&D strategy as part of the next five-year science and technology plan. These strategies include: in the next five years, the funds for scientific research and reform will increase from 2. 15% of GDP in 2003 to 3%; Strengthen the development of advantageous fields, such as electronics, chemistry, ocean engineering and biomedicine, and invest in new fields such as environment and water resources science and technology to balance basic research and direct strategic research; Encourage scientific research activities and strengthen the commercial value of R&D projects.
199 1 year, Singapore established the science and technology bureau and began to formulate the national five-year plan for science and technology development. In the first five-year plan, from 199 1 to 1995, the government invested S $2 billion, with the goal of establishing and improving research facilities, including establishing public research institutes and science parks, and encouraging local enterprises to invest in R&D and technology upgrading by means of funding. 1the second five-year plan from 996 to 2000 * * invested 4 billion yuan, with the goal of recruiting a large number of research and engineering technicians, creating a good research and development environment, improving the technical level and innovation ability of the local processing industry and promoting the transformation of technological achievements. The third five-year plan from 200 1 to 2005 * * invested S $7 billion. Among them, basic and applied research is 5 billion, mainly applied research, which is used to fund research projects of public research institutes and universities; 2 billion is used for venture capital, technology transfer and innovation and entrepreneurship.
In order to promote the cooperation between research institutions and industries, national research institutions can only get 70% of the total funds after applying to the Science and Technology Bureau, and the rest will be distributed by the Science and Technology Bureau according to the amount of subsidies provided by the industry. Accordingly, the Science and Technology Bureau has also set up a funding scheme to encourage local enterprises to carry out R&D work. If the project application jointly submitted by enterprises and research institutions to the Science and Technology Bureau is approved, enterprises can usually get funding equivalent to 70% of the total cost.
Singapore also renamed the former Bureau of Productivity and Standards as the Bureau of Standards, Productivity and Innovation. Its mission is to promote productivity so as to enhance Singapore's competitiveness and economic growth. To this end, it has taken various measures to encourage technology inventors to start businesses and encourage technological innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (the Economic Development Bureau is responsible for providing similar services to multinational corporations and large local enterprises).
In the past five years, the government has re-examined and revised relevant laws and regulations, and introduced a series of major measures, such as: establishing venture capital funds to invest in technology start-ups with venture capitalists; Pay the technical update and technical consultation fees of small and medium-sized enterprises in proportion; Allow individuals to use their ancestral homes (in limited industries) to start companies and vigorously promote entrepreneurial culture; Support the development of innovative industries; A number of financing plans have been launched to make up for the gap and try to solve the financing problem of small enterprises.
Attach importance to education and talent introduction
Due to the lack of natural resources, Singapore attaches great importance to human resources. In the past 20 years, education expenditure has been ranked second in Singapore's national expenditure, second only to the national defense budget. 1997-2003, the annual education appropriation accounted for more than 2. 1% of the government budget.
Singapore advocates elite education and has invested heavily in setting up government scholarships to train elites. These people must work in the government for five years after studying abroad to ensure a certain proportion of talents in the civil service.
At the same time, the government has not neglected the popularization of education, and implemented the basic compulsory education of10-1year, that is, 6 years in primary school and 4 or 5 years in secondary school. According to different situations, middle school students can choose three ways of continuing education after graduation. The first choice is to enter a junior college and go to college two years later. Those who study well can get government scholarships and become "elites"; The second is to enter the polytechnic, which is equivalent to junior college; Finally, polytechnic is equivalent to technical school. The success of Singapore's education lies in that talents at different levels meet the different employment needs of society. Practical talents trained in 3-year colleges have certain theoretical basis and professional skills, which are welcomed by employers.
Singapore also pays attention to improving the quality of the workforce through on-the-job training and lifelong education. In view of the low education level of early employees, the government has launched a number of training programs for on-the-job employees, and encouraged enterprises to organize employees to carry out vocational training in the form of subsidies. For employees with only primary school education, basic knowledge training is the main task; Those over the age of 40 who have no college education are required to arrange at least 6 months of full-time subsidy training. Especially in the period of 1974- 1985 rapid economic growth, the government took measures to limit wage growth for on-the-job training.
In addition to domestic education, Singapore also attaches great importance to the introduction of talents. The survey results show that from 199 1-2000, the contribution rate of knowledge and skilled immigrants to Singapore's economic growth was as high as 37%. Take the field of R&D as an example: In 2002, there were 20,000 R&D personnel in China, 78% of whom were foreign talents. At present, the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore has set up nine overseas "Contact Singapore" strongholds as outposts to attract and introduce overseas professionals. At the same time, the government and enterprises also take the initiative to find leading talents around the world to hire to work in Singapore.
Develop creative industries
In addition, Singapore also regards creative industries as an important development direction. In order to promote this industry, the government plans to invest S $200 million in the five-year period from 2003 to 2008 to promote the development of local art, design and media industries. It is estimated that by 20 12, the number of people employed in creative industries will increase to 1 10000.
For example, the Singapore Economic Development Board has taken various measures to encourage more Singaporean enterprises, especially finished product manufacturers, to actively participate in industrial design and let them know the value and importance of industrial design. At the same time, the Economic Development Bureau is also actively improving the education level of industrial design in Singapore and cultivating design talents. In 2005, the National University of Singapore and the University of Science and Technology in the Netherlands jointly launched Singapore's first postgraduate course in industrial design, aiming at expanding Singapore's design talent pool. Zhang Mingjian, Chairman of the Economic Development Bureau, said: "In the future, we hope that consumer electronics, food packaging, furniture manufacturers and so on. We will be proud to adopt Singapore's design and win prizes in international design competitions with our unique artistic skills. "
For technical products, good design can highlight products and bring competitive advantages to businesses. However, the development of creative industries is not limited to the technology industry. As long as there are good business ideas and growth potential, start-ups engaged in non-technical industries can also apply for funding of not more than S $300,000 from the Bureau of Productivity, Standards and Innovation. In order to obtain this kind of capital, enterprises must meet the following conditions: high innovation and intellectual property content, good long-term growth and profit potential, and potential for expansion and internationalization in the domestic market. Since the end of 20001,about 150 creative start-up companies have been supported by the "Start-up Enterprise Plan" named "Seed Fund". With the support of the Fund, the number of business incubation centers in Singapore has gradually increased, reaching 95 at present. These centers have helped cultivate about 1000 enterprises.
On the other hand, the Singapore government believes that creative industries can also be used as a soft power to enhance cultural identity, national confidence and strengthen regional ties.
"Capital" is capital.
From the perspective of labor factors, the labor force should be divided into three elements: physical strength, intelligence and beauty. In the past, people had a clear understanding of physical strength and intelligence, but they had a vague understanding of beauty. With the development of society, the role of beauty becomes more and more obvious, and people gradually have a deep understanding of beauty. No one can ignore the economic value of beauty.
The beauty of a woman is priceless, and this noble value of beauty has been fully reflected and proved in the model market. According to the statistics of Forbes magazine, from 65438 to 0994, the annual salary of the top three female models in the world was Cindy Crowtown, with an annual salary of $6.5 million. Claudia Schaefer, with an annual salary of $5.3 million; Christy Turlington, with an annual salary of $4.8 million. The annual salary of male models is generally less than 6 figures at most. Among the top models, the salary of male models is only110 of female models, while among those unknown models whose annual salary does not exceed $50,000, the annual salary of female models is twice that of male models.
If we consider the factors of intelligence and physical strength, it is difficult to explain clearly that their returns are actually obtained by investing in beautiful women, in other words, they earn a lot of money by the strength of beautiful women.
Kurnik Eva, a beautiful woman with a face like a kitten, has a first-class face and a first-class figure. Although she has only third-rate skills, she has become rich. Compared with the first-class technology, the third-rate figure and the last-rate Williams sisters, they should be richer. Some people have criticized some stars in the domestic entertainment circle who are popular by their faces, saying that they are not deep in internal skills, uneducated and vulgar, but no matter how people understand them, they are fire or red. Some people are young, but very popular, and make a lot of money every day.
Capital is capital.
The love of beauty is human nature, and the pursuit of beauty is the driving force of human development. Everyone has a yearning for beauty and wants to enjoy it. This is the most primitive mentality of human beings.
The highest ideal pursued by mankind is truth, goodness and beauty, and beauty is the unity of truth, goodness and beauty. With the progress of human material civilization and spiritual civilization, the aesthetic level of human beings will become higher and higher, and the desire for beauty will become stronger and stronger.
Beauty is a flower among women, and everyone loves it. In the Han Dynasty, there was a court musician named Li Yannian, who wrote such a poem: "There are beautiful women in the north, and they are peerless and independent, looking after the city first and then the country." In a sense, the beauty of a woman is not only an attraction, but also a natural resource that can be developed and utilized.
Beauty lasts forever.
Today, with the rapid development of market economy, when beauty is combined with social production factors, it often produces the utility people need.
The value of beauty is best illustrated by the entertainment circle. Beautiful people are what advertisers are looking for, and the income of beautiful people is almost proportional to their beauty. Although it takes some real skills to make a lot of money, beautiful people are more likely to succeed than unattractive people. For example, as actors, some handsome and beautiful stars are not first-class, but they still have many opportunities to appear in the camera, because they are beautiful, and most people who like to watch their films are directed at beauty, so naturally they will not care too much about their acting skills. Because beauty makes people feel happy, everything that is pleasant can be transformed into value. From modeling to acting on TV, to making songs and endorsing goods, their income is much higher than that of ordinary people. People who watch are willing, people who give money are willing, and people who play are naturally more willing. In contrast, those actors who are not beautiful enough can only go astray, or simply do the opposite, taking ugliness as beauty and ugliness as unforgettable, which is also the reason why ugly stars used to be popular; Or take the hard route, constantly improve their internal strength, and let the audience accept themselves rationally. However, these two roads are much more difficult than the former.
In fact, "beauty" has been affecting social life, which is an objective phenomenon that is not transferred by human will.
In the past, "beauty" was often associated with "politics". Looking at the historical facts of ancient "beauty politics" at home and abroad, anyone will suddenly realize that the power of beauty is so great that it can even change the past history.
Nowadays, "beauty" is often tied to "economy". It is difficult for people to get a satisfactory explanation from traditional economists, who either turn a blind eye or are unwilling to face it squarely.
In fact, with the development of society and the advancement of democracy, beautiful women gradually enter various fields such as economy and culture, and they show their personal values in a wider world, expanding from "beauty politics" to "beauty economy".
From "beauty politics" to "beauty economy", it is a historical development phenomenon that broadens the stage for beauty, and also reflects the progress of society to some extent.
The birthplace of a famous beauty in the history of China has unexpectedly become a major reason for traveling. The hometown of the four beauties has now become a tourist attraction. Local governments will naturally build memorial halls according to local conditions. Zhaojun's hometown has specially built a "Zhaojun's former residence"; The Story of Diusim's Hometown raised funds to build the "Mizhi Celebrity Exhibition Hall"; Yang Guifei's hometown Rong County sees "Guifei" everywhere; In Zhuji, the hometown of Stone, there is a Huansha Stone engraved with the original "Huansha" by Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Beautiful women have more opportunities than ordinary women. Generally speaking, beautiful looks can bring women luck and benefits that ordinary people can't get: when you apply for a job, the examiner will secretly help you; The boss will try his best to arrange you around him and let you do some easy and well-paid work; Although your foreign language level is average, the manager will take you to study abroad or participate in foreign activities; If you can't finish the work for some reason, male colleagues will take the initiative to help. ......